Wagering game terminals, such as slot machines, video poker machines, and the like, have been a cornerstone of the gaming industry for several years. The popularity of such wagering game terminals among players generally depends on the perceived likelihood of winning money at the terminal and the intrinsic entertainment value of the terminal relative to other available gaming options. Where the available gaming options include a number of competing terminals and the expectation of winning each terminal is roughly the same (or believed to be the same), players are likely to be attracted to the more entertaining and exciting of the terminals.
Consequently, wagering game terminal operators strive to employ the most entertaining and exciting terminals available because such terminals attract frequent play and, hence, increase profitability for the operators. Thus, in the highly competitive wagering game terminal industry, there is a continuing need to develop new types of games, or improvements to existing games, that will enhance the entertainment value and excitement associated with the games.
One concept that has been successfully employed in existing wagering game terminals to enhance player entertainment is the use of progressive games. In the gaming industry, a “progressive” game involves collecting coin-in data from participating gaming device(s) (e.g., slot machines), contributing a percentage of that coin-in data to a progressive jackpot amount, and awarding that jackpot amount to a player upon the occurrence of a certain jackpot-won event. A jackpot-won event typically occurs when a “progressive winning position” is achieved at a participating gaming device. If the gaming device is a slot machine, a progressive winning position may, for example, correspond to alignment of progressive jackpot reel symbols along a certain payline. The initial progressive jackpot is a predetermined minimum amount. That jackpot amount, however, progressively increases as players continue to play the gaming machine without winning the jackpot. Further, when several gaming machines are linked together such that several players at several gaming machines compete for the same jackpot, the jackpot progressively increases at a much faster rate, which leads to further player excitement.
Another concept that has been employed is that of a secondary or “bonus” game which may be played in conjunction with a “basic” game. The bonus game may include any type of game, either similar to or entirely different from the basic game, and is typically initiated by the occurrence of certain pre-selected events or outcomes of the basic game. Examples of the types of bonus games may include adventure games, guessing games, games of chance, and the like. Such a bonus game has been found to produce a significantly higher level of player excitement than the basic game alone because it provides an additional chance to play, which increases the player's overall expectation of winning.
In current wagering game terminals, whether in a basic game or bonus game, once a player leaves a gaming session, he or she has to start from the beginning in the next gaming session. Typically, upon termination of play, the player is awarded the balance of any credits, but also loses any unused or unredeemed game assets that he or she may have accumulated. Further, any selections the player may have made, for example, any paths the player may have taken or options he or she may have chosen during the game, are reset so that there are no indications of where the player has been or what he or she has done.
Thus, there is a need for wagering game terminals that allow players to benefit from their previous experiences playing at the wagering game terminals.